The Land of What Might Have Been
by GhostofaGirl15
Summary: "Aria's hand is so close to his and he has an overwhelming urge to hold it. But he can't. He holds Hanna's hand instead." Caleb/Aria. Mentions of Caleb/Hanna. Oneshot.


When he first sees her, it's his second day in Rosewood. He's leaning against the wall of the school. At first, he only sees her back. Her long, dark hair cascading down it. He's not that interested. But then she turns and looks his way and he can't help but think that she's stunning, despite how corny it is.

He notices her blonde friend keeps staring at him. She doesn't look like she cares for him at all. She probably doesn't. He's the new kid doing under the table work. Just by looking at her he can tell that he's not someone that girl would want to get involved with. But he kind of wishes she would.

XX

He's in detention. He's not surprised about the fact, he is surprised, however, to find the brunette girl's blonde friend there. He sits next to her and the two begin talking. He realizes that she's a pretty cool girl - except for being a Justin Bieber fan. As they talk, he sees how stressed she is and for some reason, asks what's wrong.

"I screwed up." She says. "I did something I shouldn't have. If Mrs. Montgomery makes it to the art show, Aria's going to be in so much trouble and she's going to hate me." Her head went in her hands.

Instinctively, Caleb knows Aria's the brunette girl he saw before. He doesn't want her to get in trouble and he doesn't want her mad at Hanna. After detention, he races out like a mad man and pulls something from Mrs. Montgomery's car - the last one on the lot.

XX

He's living at the school. It's not ideal, but at least it's a warm place to stay and when he absolutely has to, he can get food. He likes the quiet and secluded atmosphere of the school. He can't help it. He hates his home life and his overbearing, uncaring foster mother. But what can he do? He just stays at the school. It's not like that woman cares where he is as long as she gets her money.

He hears voices one night and sees Mrs. Montgomery making out with some man. He's disgusted and leaves quickly. After Mrs. Montgomery and the man left, he hears other voices. He recognizes one of them as Hanna's.

He walks and in and sees Hanna hoisted up to the vent. He sees her talking to Aria and her take the money he had. Aria lets her down hurriedly and the two start to leave quickly. Caleb begins to follow them. The girls run faster and Caleb picks up his speed. He's almost caught up with them when Hanna sprays hairspray in his eyes.

He's caught completely off-guard and yells in pain. It's then the girls realize it was him chasing him. When they all finally calm down and Caleb gets his eyes clean, he confesses why he was sleeping at the school. Both girls pity him and he hates it. His resentment for their pity is momentarily forgotten when Aria puts her hand over his supportively. And he hates himself for it, but it gives him a glimmer of hope.

XX

A few weeks later, he starts dating Hanna. He knows it's wrong because he's not really in love with her, but she's nice and she likes him and he thinks maybe he could learn to like her. Their relationship is safe, placed in the neat little boxes that Caleb never pictured for his relationships.

But it's not a bad thing. He likes hanging out with Hanna and he wishes for the hundredth time as they hang out that he could like her as more than a friend and that his attraction to Aria would go away.

He hates himself a little when he kisses Hanna and imagines it's Aria. He knows it's wrong. It's Hanna's best friend and Hanna's a great girl. But he can't help it. There's something so magnetic about the brunette girl and Caleb can't break free.

XX

He's walking by the Grill one night and he sees Aria in the window, tears streaming down her face. He knows that he should just walk on, head back to his house, but he can't help it. He wants to make her feel better.

He walks into the restaurant and walks up behind her. He chuckles at her slight jump when he says. "Who's ass am I gonna have to kick?"

She turns around and sees it's him. She quickly wipes her eyes and tries to play it off like it's nothing. But Caleb can tell. Even if he wasn't been dating Hanna, he know that something is definitely wrong with Aria. And he doesn't like it.

"Seriously. I know we don't talk a lot, but you're my girlfriend's best friend. I think it would be okay for me to kick whoever did this to you's ass." He says, still looking at her eyes, which are still filling with tears.

"My boyfriend and I broke up." She says quietly. "He broke up with me. I don't blame him. There were way too many obstacles for us. I mean, I know he loves me and everything, and I love him, so I guess I'm glad he's out of it, but it just sucks to lose him, you know?"

Caleb sits by her, apprehensively, and looks at her. "I think he's an idiot. You're a cool girl, Aria. And there are obstacles in every relationship. It's about, I don't know, trying to overcome them, I guess?" He says and tentatively puts his hand over hers comfortingly, like she did with him that night he told her he was homeless.

Aria smiles weakly. "Thanks, Caleb. I'm glad Hanna has such an awesome boyfriend." She says before standing up. She starts to walk out before quickly placing a kiss on Caleb's cheek. She's not sure what made her do it, but it doesn't matter. Caleb looks at her, shocked and she just smiles and says goodnight. He hates himself for wishing there could be more.

XX

He and Aria are hanging out one day as friends. They've been getting a lot closer since the night at the Grill and Caleb can't bring himself to care. He really likes spending time with the dark-haired girl. He can tell she's still messed up about her breakup with her boyfriend, but she tries really hard not to let it affect her.

They go to get ice cream by Aria's suggestion and walk around Rosewood as they eat. Hanna's hanging out with Emily today so neither are worried about time management. They're just enjoying the day and the ice cream and each other's company.

"So, why did you come to Rosewood in the first place? This doesn't seem like your kind of town." Aria says as she takes a bite of her ice cream. Caleb watches, taking a bite of his own. He thinks about her question, knowing she's right.

"Foster mom, mainly. It's not like I could say 'no, I'm not going'. Believe me, if I could've, I would've." He replies.

"So, are you saying there's nothing keeping you in Rosewood?" She asks. Caleb doesn't know how the Hell they got on the subject of twenty questions, but part of him wishes they hadn't. Because he knows he wants to tell her that she's one of the reason Rosewood doesn't suck so bad.

"Well, I mean, there's Hanna and a few of my other friends." He says and pauses before looking at her and saying quickly. "And getting to know you has been pretty cool."

Aria smiles at him and as they walk, their hands brush against each other. They both jerk their hands away as if they had been burnt and look at each other. Aria's eyes are filled with shock. Caleb's looking at her apprehensively, wondering if she felt the same thing he did.

Aria continues to stare at him before impulsively leaning up and kissing him. Caleb kisses her back, aware of how wrong it is. He can't completely bring himself to care. He's wanted to kiss her ever since he first saw her when he moved here. He can't believe he's finally getting the chance to do it.

Aria pulls away a second later, her eyes even wider than before. "I have to go." She says and darts off. Caleb watches after her, wanting to call for her, but knows that it's no use. She's gone.

XX

He wants to tell Hanna that they should break up, especially after his kiss with Aria and how it made him feel. He can't bring himself to do it, though. Hanna's a really nice girl and good friend. He wishes he could feel some attraction to her, but it's not there. He keeps playing the day he and Aria kissed in his mind, torturing himself.

It's even worse when Aria shows up at Hanna's house one night and his girlfriend suggests she stay for the movie. Aria reluctantly agrees and Hanna guides them over to the couch. Caleb's in between the girls and Aria's hand is so close to his. He has an overwhelming urge to hold it. But he can't.

He holds Hanna's instead.

XX

Aria corners him in the hall one day at school. Class is in session so they're the only two in the halls. She sees him and hurries over to his locker.

"What happened between us… can't. Hanna's my best friend and I don't want to hurt her." She says, quickly and firmly. Caleb nods. He gets it. He doesn't want to come between the girls. He knows that they've been friends for a long time. "And don't say anything to her, please. I think it's best we just both forget it ever happened." She continues.

"Okay." Caleb replies, looking at her, no emotion showing. She doesn't need to see that he wants to tell her that it was her he was originally attracted to. There's no point. She's made up her mind. He has to go along with it. "Whatever you want. And I won't say anything. I don't wanna hurt Hanna either, don't worry."

Aria nods once and kisses his cheek. "Goodbye, Caleb. I'll see you around." She says and walks away. He finds himself again wanting to call after her. He can't, obviously, but he wishes. He wishes things were different for them, that they could go to a different place and be happy together, the Land of What Might Have Been. But they can't and he's stuck watching her walk away from him.

He hates the way it affects him. But then again, Aria Montgomery has always had an affect on him and probably always will, whether she knows it or not

-Fin-

**So… I'm not sure what I think about this. I think Caleb is WAY OOC (but this is my second time writing for him. I'll work on it, I promise). I feel like Aria's a bit OOC, too. But, oh well. I hope you guys liked this.**

**About the couple: this is my favorite AU pairing on the show. I've NEVER liked Caleb/Hanna (as I'm a die-hard Lucas/Hanna shipper) and I was been a big Noel/Aria when he was first introduced (I've never gotten incredibly in to the whole Ezra/Aria thing. They're alright, but not my favorite). So, I figured, why not pair them together? I really like how they turned out. I feel like they'd be a little like Sean&Ellie from **_**Degrassi**_**, but maybe that's just me.**

**Okay, one ridiculously long AN later:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Caleb, Aria or **_**Pretty Little Liars**_**. They belong to ABC Family and Sara Shepard. If I DID own it, Toby&Spencer would still be together and Lucas&Hanna would be together as well.**


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